Contractor’s Corner: renovationPLUS in Carmel, Indiana

As a design-build remodeling contractor, renovationPLUS is heavily involved in complete exterior renovations. We have focused solely on installing engineered wood siding from LP for our projects since 2007. With the great variety of panel profiles and trim options available, we are able to transform exteriors without mixing and matching different vendors. Our company is able to offer clients the one of the best warranties available on a sustainable, wood-based product that will hold a great finish, withstand the elements and more.

Unbelievable Warranty Coverage 

We recently experienced a telling testament to how LP stands behind its warranty and product. I received a call one afternoon from homeowners that were in the process of selling their home. The buyer's agent and the inspector told them that they had an "inferior siding product" on their home and that only a fiber cement-based product was good enough to close the deal. However, the inspector stipulated if the owners could come up with valid warranty information, the buyer might not back out.

Fortunately, these homeowners knew they had LP SmartSide siding on the house. They went to the LP website and found renovationPLUS is the LP BuildSmart Preferred Contractor in their area. We met and reviewed the installation, which was pretty good – but like many projects, regardless of the product, not installed per manufacturer specs. I contacted my LP representative. We walked the house again and compared notes. My LP rep confirmed that if we adjusted siding, provided proper spacings and pulled it up off the drip cap, roof and sidewalk, per LP SmartSide specifications, LP would still honor the 50-year warranty! This was music to the homeowners’ ears as it allowed them to complete the sale.

The Moment of Truth

Here’s what was even more amazing to me and my crew. Once we removed and inspected the LP SmartSide siding that, due to improper installation, had been sitting down on top of the roof, sitting on the drip cap, had concrete poured up against it, etc., it was completely sound material! Even though we had been prepared to install a significant amount of new material, we were able to reuse virtually all the LP SmartSide material. By comparison, at the same time, we were also repairing water intrusion on an improperly installed, fiber cement-sided house with similar issues of siding sitting on the drip cap. I was able to push my carpenter pencil through that siding and still write.

No comparison, no question. LP SmartSide is, without a doubt, the best siding and trim on the market, in my humble opinion.